Undecisive about moving ds: please advise!

[bracingair]

ds has just turned 2. He is at a small nursery. The plan was to keep him there till 2 as most kids leave then and move on to preschool. But i cant bear to move him - he is so happy there! There was an issue oh him hitting etc a couple of months ago, but he is really settled now.

I would err on leaving him there, but his assistants tell me how advanced he is becoming and they think he will gain more from preschool/playgroup.

It turns out that there are 4 others who are a month or two youngwe than him, plus 5 or so 18 months olds. So he is not that much older than the rest.

Any advise would be much appreciated as i am really worrying myself about it!

ps. if he goes to preschool, he will probably move in sep or jan to the one attatched to his school.

Do you need the daycare rather than a sessional preschool ? The nursery should follow the same curriculum as the preschool anyway from aged 3(Foundation Stage which runs to end of Reception) so if they do specifically do so and he is happy there there should be no pressure to move sooner than you choose. I'd be sceptical about being told a just 2 is "advanced". They all develop at different rates with speech, learning, physical and social behaviour, and he could simply be going through a particular development phase now while the others may also very soon too.

that is true, they will catch up soon, but it a small private nursery, i think more geared like a baby room. Sorry i am not being so clear, i always get confused with varieties of childcare. So although they will keep up with him, they think he will do better with peers his own age, and the activities being geared always for an older child.

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More information is needed to give you mroe advice. Are you in paid employment? Most pre-schools playgroups provide seasonal care - that is, they are open between set times such as 9:15 to 12:15 whereby the child goes home for lunch and then come back, for example, 12:45 to 15:15. If you're not there to collect, you'll need someone else to do so, a relative or childminder. Some pre-school playgroups do all day care for example, from 9:15 to 15:15. Some have breakfast clubs before and after pre-school clubs. Some are only open certain days, for example, Mondays, Tuesdays and half day Wednesdays. Others are open Monday to Friday. You need to establish your availability and the pre-schools opening hours. If they are incompatible, you should leave your child at the nursery.

I assume it is Ofsted approved as a nursery for up to 5 and yet it sounds more like a creche than being geared up for older toddlers/preschool age . Is there a separate Preschool room where the routines/activities may be different and follow the Foundation Satge Curriculum ? btw attendance at an attached preschool is no guarantee of a place in Reception there.

hi, thank you for respnding. I think the place ds is now is a creche? they can take beyond 2, but because they are alot of preschools/playgroups in the area children generally stay till 2. I would like to keep him there as the pre school with an opening now, only runs 9.30 to 12.30 mon to thurs so only leaving just under 3 hours at work. It would mean catching up quite a bit in the eve/weekends.

The preschool with slightly longer hours says they only have a vacancy in may. I would leave ds where he is, just worried that he wont be as stretched as he needs.